Whistle operated by steam or compressed gas and intended for use upon railroads or for navigation, aviation, or like purposes



March 24, 1925. 1,530,899

WHISTLE OPERATED BY STEAM OR COMPRESSED GAS AND INTENDED FOR USE F. LIMON UPON RAILROADS OR FOR NAVIGATION, AVIATION, 0R LIKE PURPOSES Filed July 24, 3.925

of two other constructional forms.

Patented Mar. 24, 1925.

- UNITED STAT-Es ATENT Oli-liricaN TRANQOIS LIMON, lor VERSAILLES, FRANCE. l y

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WHISTLE OPEnATnn BY STEAM on conrnnssnn GAS ANn INTnNnnn ron Use UPON l i BAILROADS on FOR NAVIGATION, AVIATION, on.. LIKE PURPOSES. f Y

Application lrueduiy 24, 1923. serial No. 653,610.

10 all who-m t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANQOIS LIMON, a citizen of the Republic of France, and residing at `Versailles (Seine et Oise Depart# ment), No. 13, rue Baillet Revirornfin the Republic oit France, have inventedl a certain new and useful Whistle operatedby steam or compressed gas and intended for use upon railroads or for navigation, aviation, or like purposes, ot which the following is a speciication. i l My invention relates tov a kwhistle operated by steam or compressed gas.` i The appended drawingsshew by way ot example various forms of yconstruction of the said whistle.

Figs. l to 14 represent different forms of construction in axial section. f

Figs. 15, 16, 17 and 18 arevertical sections of other constructional forms, the Ylatter according to the line A-A Fig. 19. i Fig. 19 -is a horizontal 4section ony the line B-B Fig. 18. 'n

Figs. 2O and 21 are vertical axial Sections y The Vwhistle according to my invention` is of the type comprising' a bell-shaped element, but it differs essentially from the known devices of this type in that the bell .1 (Fig-Q 1) yis not circular but annular, and

y the vapour or gas `under pressure is discharged from a central orilice 2 within the same instead of escaping tothe exterior.. In principle, the Huid is discharged trom` the inlet conduit4 in the form of an annular,

cylindrical or conical stream, Fig. 5, whose section has the shape ot' a ring, but it ymight have the shape of a polygon, or any other core, Fig. 8, or with core, Figs9-and 10,. or a conical jetwithout core, Fig. 11, or with v core, Figs. 12 and 13. In this case likewise,

the jet may'have a circular or polygonalL section, or` any desired regular orirregular form.

the stream of fluid is so directed that a part p of the Same will enter the bell 1. The fluid f escepesthrcugh a .central conduit ,5 of` adi.

Whatever may be the disposition adopted,

vergentl or simply a cylindrical form, which may contain ornot inthe interior an exten- Sion ofthe core 3. The divergentpo'rtion and its' core mayv have longitudinal'and transverse sections,l which are lregular lor not,l and the same conditions will prevail for the bell.l The divergent `portion A5 may` be completed by a trumpet-shaped part,

Fig-L14. The steam inlet to the whistlegis controlled by slide Vvalve or `by a flat valve or clack valve, or by a simple cock.

`TheV type of' whistle according to my invention vpresents the following advantages.y 1. Concentration of the discharge section whereby the vibration of the air produced rby the alternati-ons of .flow andaarrest .of

flow. of the fluidvr willy have the maximum amplitude, so as to obtain the maximum range of sound for a given amountot` energy.

Q. Concentration of the sound-in plane waves according to the axis off the appa-v ratus in the direction of they `clischarge`oi1 fluid, whereby the waves may be directed,

f by reenforcing them inthe corresponding direction. v n i f The saidadvantag'e is very important for the 4following uses: i l f a. For railroad use, the engine driver is to be provided with a whistle ot suiiicient power to be heard by the brakemen at the rear end of the longest trains, in spite of the noise due tothe train, and rthis Iis to be carried out with the least disturbance 4tol dwellers along the railroad. lLike conditions prevail tor the warning` whistles `for repeating the track signalsuponlocornotives. .To obtain this'result,'the axis of the apparatus has the rhorizontal position, "with the trumpet turned backwards.

bj For navigation and aviation, the ves-v sels or aircraft should be providedkwith a whistleacting at a great distance, even dur ing a fog, which conditionis particularly y c unfavourable for the propagation of sound waves. In this case the trumpet is turned towards the front.

c. The'bell can be 'given as large a volume as is desired, since this volume is not limited `as in the known types of bell by the diameterof the iu'id dischargering orby. al.

special shape to be givento the bell, but

is quite independentot the transverse dimensions of the jet, since the'bell extends outfv werdly" sf lati??? i @inse .they `bell` can CIY.

`their relatively small size will allow but a small consumption of Huid, especially when said tanks are used for continuous braking. 4. The Waves are directed in the simples-t manner, and with devices occupying thev minimum space, since-the waves are vdirected at the beginning of rthe vibration. 5. The sound can be distributed' as desire in the different directions. To obtain this result, the axis ot' the apparatus will be either horizontal, vertical or oblique, and the-said apparatus is completed in the following manner: v

a. Either by an acoustic reflector 9 oi' suit-A able shapev which may be placed opposite the outer aperture of the diif'ergi-ng element or trumpet, or may be yengage-d 4Wholly or partially Withinl the. latter,-1t being feasible' to use a regular or irregular itoifm for the saidracoustic reflector, FigyQO.'

b. Or by a trumpet'oi` regula-r or irregular form, partitioned or iiot,ftor directing and diffusing the sound waves according to the result to be obtained. For this purpose, re-

coui'se may be had to a cellular partition-y ing, and 'the cross-section of .thel cellular conduits may haveany desired regular or irregular form. The divergent element may be partitioned in the same manner asfor the trumpet. p i

. Further, the apparatus may comprise various tumipets, partitioned or not. as desired.

21 shoivs a Whistle with tivo' oppositely disposed trumpets 17, this arrangement being chiefly applicable to Whistles tor passengers ala-rm' devices which are to be heard throughout the Whole length of the train, both at the front and rear.' The height 7i of the inner end oit the bell, 1, above the. discharge orifice will depend upon the note which is to be given to the sound of the Whistle.- Use. can be made to `this end of a' sere-W adjustment as shown in Fig. 15'.

The screWt-hreaded bell 1 can be turned on its seat in either direction so as toI vary the note given by the Whistle Within stated limits.`

A complementaiy adjustment' can also be hadby rotating either Way theV divergent ele` ment Which is screwed into the'bell. f

The said' apparatus can be. used-.for the emission ott special signals which may be produced in determined conditions, accord# ing to a given code, in the following manner:

a. By disposing Within the saidv bell a piston 10 actuated byv the levers 11 and links- 12, or by like means, .Figi 1.6, togetherv with reaction springsl or weights. The fluid inlet'` to Athe Whistle being preliminarily opened, the piston 10 is given a reciprocating this Will aioid variations in intensity of the characteristic sound.

This ai'rafngen-ient is particularly valuableA for' distress signals, and by means of a suitable apparatus a vessel can send out such signals which are to have the maximum lange in alldirections. Fondistress signals upon trains, it is simply necessary to turn the device 'towards the stat-ions or trains Which'are toreceive the signals. ln normal use, the trumpet will be obviously turned towards the train coupled to the locomotive. The rotating Whistle, Fig.v 17, is chiefly available for rivernavigationl since the vessels are required to signal'their presence at a considerable distance in an exact direction, especially as concerns the locks. lVith my ap paratus, vessels can produce code signals While at the same time giving the .minimum inconvenience to dwellers along the shore. For navigation and aviation purposes, the apparatus might be mounted on a universal joint so as to be turned in all directions.

kc. 'By alternately connecting thel bell either With tanks under pressure or at atmosphericpressure, or directly with the atmosphere, and this will produce varied acoustic effects.

, If desired,- the bell may be provided with orifices, adjustable or not, for an additional` sounds. n

The special arrangements above set forth may be Wholly or partially obtained ivith'a single Whistle. A number o'tiapparatus may be' placed behind each other or in staggered disposition, -or otherivisebeside cach other with suitable spacing, andl these can be supplied by a common inlet or by sepa-rate in lets, so` as to obtain sounds lia-vingthe same tonek or having vdifferent tones which' are capable of interfering, whereby the sound maybe strengthenedvin particular vdirections. i'

Further, the said'apparatus may comprise all the additions Whici areV incommon use either by the human breath, being used' as an operating Whistle for railroads, .navigation and the like, or 1t can be actuated by compressed gas, chiefly for acoustic communications to armies, and the pitch of the sound can be varied according to circumstances by the arrangement Fig. l5.

Obviously, the cent-ral conduit may be given any desired form such as divergent, cylindrical, convergent, or convergent and divergent, With or Without interposition of cylindrical elements.

By varying the size and shape of said conduit, either with or Without variation of the volume ofthe'bell, I am enabled to vary at will the pitch of the sound Within very Wide limits. y

The Whistle according to my invention has the very special characteristic in that the fluid suppliedto the bell and acting to interrupt the main jet in a periodic manner, is in the same manner as the jet and by reason of the counter-pressure produced by the central conduit, discharged substantially at the same pressure as the jet at the outlet of the conduit and hence produces a whistling noise which is about the same as produced by the main jet, whereby the Whistle becomes double-acting.

The great advantages of this arrangement consists in the fact that all the fluid supplied to the whistle is entirely used to produce the-whistling effect, Without loss of any portion into the atmosphere, as in the known single-acting Whistles, and the maX- imum yield Will be thus obtained.

Obviously, one of the features of the invention consists in the production of a double-acting Whistle.

This feature may be adapted to other typesof known Whistles having (or not) movable elements. To obtain this result, it is simply necessary to arrange the device so that the fluid supplied to the bell, in the same manner as for the fluid Whose fiovv it interrupts, is obliged .to circulate, When issuing into the atmosphere, through an orifice of suitable dimensions Which may (or not) be the same orifice as used for the main jet. f

I claim l. .A Whistleoperated by a compressed fluid comprising a bell adapted to produce vibrations of the fluid discharging therethrough, a fluid inlet orifice opening into the bell, a discharge aansluit arranged sul.-

a discharge orifice registeringwith the inlety orifice, the discharge conduit and a Wall of the bell defining an annular chamberfoi the fluid vibrations. i

3. A Whistle operated by a compressed fluid comprising a bell adapted to produce vibrations ofthe fluid discharging therethrough, a fluid inletV orifice opening into. the 1 bell, a discharge conduit arranged substantially centrally of thebell and having a normally open discharge orifice registering with the inlet orifice, the discharge conduit and a Wall of the bell defining an annular chamber for the fluid vibrations, the discharge and inlet orifices cooperating so that a partof the fluid stream moving from the inlet orifice enters the discharge conduit and a part'of said stream enters the annular chamber.

4. A Whistle operated by ak compressed uid comprising a bell adapted to pro-duce vibrations of the fluid discharging therethrough, a fluid inlet orifice opening into the bell, a divergent discharge conduit arranged substantially centrally of the bell and having a discharge orifice located in the vicinity of the inlet orifice, the discharge conduit and a Wall of the bell defining an annular chamber for the fluid vibrations.

5. A Whistle operated by a compressedv fluid comprising a bell adapted to produce Vibrations of the fluid discharging therethrough, a fluid inlet orifice opening into the bell, a divergent discharge conduit arranged substantially centrally of the bell and having a dischargeorilice located in the vicinity of the inletorifice, the discharge conduit and a Wall of the bell defining an annular chamber for the fluid vibrations, and a trumpet disposed upon said divergent conduit.

6. A Whistle operated by a compressed fluid comprising a bell adapted to produce vibrations of the fluid discharging therethrough, a fluid inlet orifice opening into the bell, a discharge conduit arranged substantially centrally of the bell and having a discharge orifice located in the vicinity of the inlet orifice, the discharge conduit and a Wall of the bell defining an annular chamber for the fluid vibrations, and a core ldisposed in one of said orifices to produce an annularfluid, stream,

, fluid comprising a bell` adapted to produce vibrations of the fluid discharging there-y through, a fluid inlet orifice opening into the bell, a discharge conduit arranged substantially centrally of the bell and having a discharge orifice registering With the inlet orifice, the discharge conduit and a Wall of the bell defining an annular Chamber 'for the fluid vibrations, and a core disposed in said registering' orifices to produce an annular fluid stream. s

8. A Whistle operated by a compressed fluid comprising a bell adapted to produce vibrations of the fluid discharging therethrough, a fluid inlet orifice opening into the bell, a discharge conduit arrangedsubstantially cent-rally of the bell and having` a discharge orifice located in the vicinity of the inlet orifice, the discharge conduit and a Wall of the `bell definingv an annular chamthrough, a fluid inlet orifice opening into the bell, a discharge conduit arranged substantially centrally of the bell and having a discharge orifice located in the vicinity of; the inlet orifice, the discharge conduit and a wall of the bell defining an annular chamber for the fluidl vibrations, the sja-id conduit being adjustable axially of said bell to vary the tone of the Whistle. y, In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presencev of one subscribing Witness.'

4 y FRANQOIS LIMON. `Witness: l

MAURICE BUEN. 

